Judge tosses Kilmar Abrego Garcia charges, calls Trump administration prosecution 'vindictive'

Kilmar Abrego Garcia leaves a check-in at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Office the day after a federal judge ordered his release from a detention in Pennsylvania, on Dec. 12, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images A federal judge in Tennessee on Friday dismissed human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia , a Salvadoran migrant whose mistaken deportation by the Trump administration became a flashpoint in President Donald Trump's …